A ninth Minnesota House committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana—bringing the proposal another step closer on its exhaustive path to the floor as a Senate companion version also advances.
This time, the House Education Finance Committee passed the bill, sponsored by Rep. Zack Stephenson (D), in a voice vote.
“Minnesotans are ready for this change,” Stephenson said in opening remarks. “Our current laws about cannabis are doing more harm than good, and Minnesotans deserve the freedom and respect to make their own decisions about cannabis.”
Meanwhile, on the Senate side, the legislation that’s being carried by Sen. Lindsey Port (D) cleared its sixth panel on Monday.
With majorities in both the House and Senate and control over the governorship this session, Democratic-Farmer-Labor party officials are confident that legalization will be enacted in short order following the extensive committee consideration.
The governor recently released his biennial budget request, which included proposed funding to implement marijuana legalization and expungements, and made projections about the millions of dollars in cannabis tax revenue that his office estimates the state will earn after the reform is enacted.
Gov. Tim Walz (D) discussed his proposal in a recent interview, explaining why he’s calling for a tax
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